The Decades-Old Slight that Poisons U.S.-China Relations

...The uneven relationship between the U.S. and Chinese militaries is no
surprise in an era when China's influence is rising. However, there is an
increasing disparity in the way that the two sides view each other's actions. American
interests are more and more tied to an unstated "containment" of China's presence
in the Asia-Pacific region. Yet the Pearl Harbor exercise has a historical
aptness for a different reason: In China, there is a growing sense that
American actions are tied to an unjust regional settlement that dates from the
end of World War II.

After a significant Chinese contribution to the Allied victory in Asia, many
in China argue, the United States has failed to recognize an unpaid debt. And
just as America sought to contain China taking its rightful place in the world
in the 1940s, so it seeks to do so again. At the start of the joint exercise, Rear
Adm. Rick Williams, commander of Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group
Middle Pacific, declared to his Chinese visitors, "We are linked with you
together in history, and we will be linked together in the future." For
China, which is rediscovering its historical relationship with the United States,
Williams's statement rings true, but in ways that may not be comfortable for
America ears....